As schools across the country closed in March 2020 at the outset of the COVID-19 pandemic, it was not clear how long in-person education would be disrupted. The abrupt transition to remote learning was particularly challenging for districts in rural communities, many of which have long lacked reliable access to high-speed internet and…

It is often noted that children spend most of their waking hours out of school. What they do during non-school hours is important, because access to high-quality learning, both in and out-of-school, is key to cognitive, social-emotional, and physical development. In the United States today, demand for after-school programs outstrips supply: 8.4…

The twenty years since Minnesota passed the nation's first charter school law have seen a great expansion in school choice, with charters operating in all but ten states and enrolling nearly two million students nationwide. Yet while parents now enjoy more schooling options for their children, a disappointing number of charter schools fail to…

Each year a great many evaluations are conducted of international development efforts around the world. These development evaluations study projects, programs, country-wide portfolios, policy reform efforts, and other topics of interest to funders, governments, program managers, and other involved stakeholders. Although some of these evaluations…

Performance funding--the linking of allocation of resources to accomplishment of certain desired outcomes--is an idea that is once again finding favor with policymakers. It has intuitive appeal; what's not to like about paying for results? While it is a notion that makes common sense to most decisionmakers, it is an idea with a very checkered…

The California Community Colleges are vital to closing the projected shortfall of Californians with a postsecondary credential and sustaining the state's economic competitiveness. Increasing the number of students who pursue and earn certificates and associate degrees in career technical education (CTE) fields is an important component of the…

Five preparatory steps for the evaluation of community-based programs, described as "front-end" challenges, are discussed: (1) understanding the reasons for the evaluation; (2) securing resources; (3) establishing credibility and enthusiasm; (4) developing consensus about goals and objectives; and (5) observing and fine tuning the…

This publication provides details of development funds and additional student numbers allocated to support the introduction of foundation degrees in the 2001-2002 academic year. The policy aims of foundation degrees are to address shortages of intermediate level skills in the national and regional economies and to enhance the employability of…

This booklet was designed as a guide for arts educators and contains ideas that can be used to generate interest and support for school arts programs. The first section is devoted to public relations. It contains suggestions on dealing successfully with the media in promoting arts programs. Included are such topics as getting coverage for arts…

Providing comprehensive services for the elderly in local communities presents planners and potential users with a complex set of problems. The development of new or expanded service to the elderly was examined within an ecologically informed resource dependency model to assess the effect on service expansion of organizational maintenance factors…

This document provides feedback on the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) consultation (questionnaire responses about professional development in higher education) and invites higher education institutions to apply for special funding to support the development and implementation of human resource strategies. Responses to the…

The book proposes ways in which programs for gifted and handicapped students can be managed to make the best use of resources. An initial section provides guidelines for administrators who manage gifted programing. Guidelines touch upon the following topics: analysis of current efforts, assessment of staff and program needs, student identification…

The Institute of International Education outlines the forces behind the new wave of international cooperative ventures in higher education and the challenges they pose through a systematic focus on the Japan-United States transactions. Focus is placed on two prototypes: (1) U.S. accredited institutions setting up a cooperative venture in Japan to…

This manual represents a part of the work performed in the past two years in connection with Trenton's Project -- Building a Comprehensive Planning Capability with EPPBS -- funded through ESEA Title III. The "capability" refers to a set of concepts and procedures that will allow the Trenton Public Schools to raise the level of debate in…